


Very Important

by SoloChaos



Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-08-07
Packaged: 2018-02-12 05:02:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2096763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoloChaos/pseuds/SoloChaos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hi," Tyler says.</p><p>"Shh," the boy replies as he reaches up for a tree limb. "This is Very Important work."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Very Important

Tyler meets Josh when the older boy is clambering up a tree on the playground. They're not supposed to climb trees, but Tyler isn't a tattler, so he just stands there and pretends he's just looking at the tree as not to arouse suspicion from the teachers.

"Hi," Tyler says.

"Shh," the boy replies as he reaches up for a tree limb. "This is Very Important work."

Tyler nods even though the boy isn't looking and sits down.

A couple minutes later, the boy says, "Okay," and Tyler looks up to see him perched on the limb directly above Tyler.

"Hi," Tyler says.

"Hi," the boy says. "I'm Josh. I'm in first grade."

 _First grade?_ Tyler looks up at him in awe. "I'm Tyler," he says. "I'm in kindergarten." Josh nods, and Tyler feels very grateful when he doesn't make fun of him for being a baby.

"Do you like Very Important things?" Josh asks.

 

 

Tyler was so excited to be in first grade so he could be as old as Josh, and it really, really stunk to find out Josh went to second grade.

"Why did you do that?" Tyler asks him.

Josh shrugs. "I don't know."

"Well, don't do it again," Tyler says.

Josh nods. "Okay."

They sit in silence for a while. Josh's house is kind of dark, and Tyler likes that.

"We got a trampoline," Josh says, and Tyler's eyes widen, because everyone knows that trampolines are Very Important.

"Race you!" he says, jumping up.

Later, when Tyler's mother is driving him home, Tyler says, "I'm gonna marry Josh someday."

His mother smiles. "Why?"

"Because he's super fun to play with," Tyler explains, "and I want to play with him every day for the rest of my life."

 

 

"I didn't know that you're lesbian," Josh says.

Tyler blushes. "Lebanese," he mutters.

"Oh," Josh says. They're both quiet for a while, the creak of the swings the only sound. Swings, like trampolines, are Very Important. Tyler discovered this after Josh taught him how to swing without a push. "You know, it's okay with me if you're lesbian."

"Lebanese!"

"That's okay with me too," Josh tells him earnestly.

 

 

Third grade, as Tyler discovers, is a wild ride. Kids are meaner, teachers are meaner, and parents are meaner.

But Josh isn't meaner.

Josh brings Tyler cookies and a new comic book on December 31st even though it's New Year's Eve.

"Birthdays are Very Important," Josh tells him, cheeks tinged pink from the cold. "We're both nine now."

"I know," Tyler says, taking a bite of one of the cookies.

"I made them," Josh tells him.

"You did?" Tyler says, studying them.

"Well, Mom helped," Josh admits. "But I helped measure things."

Tyler nods. "That's very impressive." Tyler spelled impressive I-M-P-R-E-S-I-F-E on his last spelling test, and he's been trying to use the word as much as possible since to show that he's not afraid of it. It's all very impressive.

Josh nods back. "I know."

 

 

Fourth grade is even wilder.

Tyler plays basketball and piano a lot, and there comes a time where kids realize that one of those things aren't "cool."

"My mom says that playing the piano is Very Important, you know," Josh says one day when he's at Tyler's house.

Tyler shrugs. "That's just your mom."

"My mom knows a lot."

Tyler thinks about that. Mrs. Dun _does_ know a lot.

"Okay," Tyler says.

"Okay," Josh echoes. "Now play the Spider-Man theme song."

Tyler does.

He even sings.

 

 

It's fifth grade, and Josh is gone.

Well, he's not _gone._ But he may as well be, because he's all the way in middle school with kids who shave and smoke and swear.

"You have to promise me that you won't change," Tyler tells his friend.

"I won't," Josh promises. "I won't even shave. I'm gonna grow a super long beard and you're gonna be really jealous."

Tyler makes a face. "I'm not gonna be jealous."

"Yeah, you will," Josh says. "It'll be really really long and you'll be jealous because you won't even have stubble."

"Beards are not Very Important," Tyler tells him firmly.

Josh snickers. "Mine will be."

 

 

Josh doesn't have a super long beard, but he does have a little bit of stubble on his upper lip.

"It looks kind of like there are really skinny, stationary bugs under your nose," Tyler tells him truthfully.

Josh gives him a dirty look. "You're just jealous," he says loftily.

"Of what? Not having skinny, stationary bugs?"

Josh gives Tyler's arm a halfhearted punch.

"Stubble is Very Important," Josh tells Tyler. "You wait and see."

 

 

"You're still friends with Josh?" Tyler's mother asks when he comes home one day, sweaty and slightly tanner from standing in the sun and watching Josh do tricks in the skate park. ("This is a Very Important one," Josh had said, and Tyler missed it completely because he looked away, certain Josh was going to slip and break his neck.)

"Yeah," he says. "Why wouldn't we be?"

His mother shrugs. "You've just been friends for a long time now. And Josh is older."

Tyler frowns. "So?"

She shrugs again. "People move on, Tyler. They change."

"Josh doesn't change," Tyler tells her. "He promised."

His mother looks at him doubtfully, but doesn't say anything.

 

 

Tyler's bored.

Eighth grade is boring.

Pressure's on, yes, but he's not in high school yet and besides, Josh says he's not even going to go to college. He's just going to make music, and Tyler is going to do that too. So why do grades matter?

Anyways.

He's bored.

Tyler thinks that if he were a little more popular, he might be a little less bored. A little more drunk, yes, and a little more high, and probably a lot more in trouble, but a little less bored.

But whatever. Josh had told him that popularity and alcohol and drugs aren't Very Important. Josh hasn't lied to Tyler before, so he'll take the ninth grader's word for it.

 

 

High school.

Tyler's surprised Josh hadn't complained very much to him in his freshman year, because all Tyler does is complain to Josh. And Zack. And Maddy. And Jay. And Mom. And Dad. And pretty much anyone who'll listen. And even the people who won't.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," a voice says from behind Tyler, and Tyler nearly falls off his desk chair.

"Josh!" Tyler says, placing a hand over his heart as he turns to glare at his friend. Who's relaxing on Tyler's bed like he's been there for hours. "How- how'd you get in here?"

"Window," Josh says, pointing, and the window is indeed open.

"Don't you have homework?" Tyler asks.

Josh shrugs. "Screw homework," he says cheerfully. "Fun is more important. Fun is Very Important."

Tyler sighs, casting a glance at his pile of work.

"Come on," Josh says, gesturing to the window. "Let's go have fun."

Tyler can't believe he's doing this. "Only because it's Very Important," he agrees, and sneaks out through the window.

 

 

Tyler hasn't seen Josh in a while. Josh _is_ a junior, and is currently spending most of his time resisting his parents' efforts to force him to college-hunt, but Tyler hasn't seen Josh in _weeks._

He finally bikes to Josh's house.

"Tyler, hello," Mrs. Dun says warmly as she lets him in. "I haven't seen you in a long time."

"Yeah, it's been a while," Tyler agrees.

"Go on up," she says.

Tyler doesn't knock, which in retrospect should've been something he should've done no matter what, because they're teenagers, and Tyler is no stranger to what teenaged boys do the most.

But he doesn't knock. And he walks right in on a shirtless Josh making out with a shirtless girl on his bed.

The girl shrieks, grabbing the blanket to cover herself.

"Tyler!" Josh says, looking astonished. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I..." Tyler stares at Josh, at loss of what to say. Josh has earrings. And a lip ring. When did that happen? "Uh..."

"Get out!" Josh snaps. "This is important, all right?!"

"Very Important, or just important?" Tyler finds himself asking.

Josh groans. "Just get out, Tyler. Get out."

 

 

Tyler's probably gay.

Actually, Tyler _is_ gay.

And the problem with having your only friend dump you is that you're, well, friendless.

Tyler's very gay, very lonely, and he's not finding much that's Very Important.

 

 

Tyler doesn't hear too much about Josh. He joined a band, Tyler knows that, and it's relatively successful. And Tyler's happy for him.

But Tyler kind of always figured that they'd do the whole band thing together. 

He and his parents are scrambling to find a college for him, because they haven't yet, because college was never part of the plan.

Josh leaving him was never part of the plan.

"What are you going to major in?" his mother asks, and she knows the answer, but she's hoping to hear a different answer every single time she asks.

"Music, Mom," Tyler says with a sigh. "You know this."

"I want you to follow your dreams, Tyler," his mother says, "but music isn't _practical,_ honey."

"But music _is_ my dream, Mom."

"Tyler," his mom says carefully, "is it your dream, or Josh's?"

Tyler's quiet for a while.

In the end, he still wants to major in music, because he realizes he doesn't have any dreams.

Dreams aren't Very Important to him anymore. 


End file.
